A Somewhat Average Journey
by herefordsnowmad12
Summary: Three new trainers start out from Pallet Town. One plans to be a champion; One a Pokémon Master; One isn't so sure yet. Together they will travel through Kanto, hoping to find their way. The path may be a mystery, but their goals are clearly set, and their pokémon will help them along the way.


**Okay! First chapter is up! However, the next chapter will probably take a while, because I want to get a few chapters ahead of the upload. Also, I want to get a judge of how people like the story presented, so a small review detailing a something about the style you like or don't would help everyone in the long run.**

 **This is also my first published work, so any type of critiquing is helpful.**

* * *

Pallet town sat in a small valley in western Kanto, right along the border with Johto, and just south of the border crossing at Tohjo falls. It was a small town, no more than 6000 people, but the people there prided themselves on their small town. The day had only begun, yet the sky was already predicting a beautiful day. Only a few passing clouds, and the rain the day before had cooled everything down, hopefully keeping the temperature from scorching everything under the sun. There was some bird pokémon in the distance cawing, but other than that, it was all quiet.

"BRRRRR BRRRRR BRRRRR!"

Ty opened his eyes and rolled over in bed. He sat up and looked over at his alarm clock, which was still blaring. He read 7:00 A.M. off the digital display. However, the date read June 20, and that was the important part.

Every year, All the public schools across Kanto let the kids out on or before June 15. This way, those children graduating from their required schooling could have 5 days to prepare for their pokémon journey. Not every kid went on a journey, and to them those 5 days had no impact. They had all summer. However, for some, it was a flurry of activity to prepare for their journey.

To go on a pokémon journey, it was required that the participant finished their 10 years required education, and were 16 or older. They also were required to take 3 basic training classes, so kids didn't end up needing to be rescued every few days. They also needed a guardian's permission, among a few other specific technicalities.

Ty had done everything he needed to, and had all of his requirements done to go on his journey.

He reached over, and turned off his alarm clock, already buzzing with excitement.

Tyson Fletcher was, by birth, 16, but his form put him a little bit younger. He was average height for his age, but gave the appearance that he was shorter. He was skinny, and had a mess of brown hair on his head, and little more than peach fuzz on his face. He had been a small kid his whole life, but the past year or so he had begun putting a little meat on his bones. While he wasn't a ghost, he really didn't enjoy being in crowds. In school, he never was in the spotlight, instead blending into the background, along with his best friends Eleanor Hewitt and Daniel Stout. Both of them were also going on a adventure. His other friends were going back to school, or other stuff besides training pokémon.

Eleanor, moved to Pallet Town when she was 11, and became quick friends with Tyson. She came into school the first day, as shy as could be, and sat down quietly in the back. Not a single child wanted anything to do with her, until Tyson was sent to the back because he was talking to Daniel. Almost immediately, he tried striking up a conversation with Ellie, and that's what started the next five years of friendship. Since then, they had been almost inseparable, even forcing their families to go on vacation together.

However, in the past few months, Ty had been feeling a little more for Ellie, and was wishing he was a little more courageous so he could tell her that he wanted to be more than friends.

Tyson and Daniel were both born in Pallet, and had known each other, as they say, since they were born, the two of them being born in the same hospital, despite having birthdays more than a month apart. Though they didn't completely get along, they had been side-by-side for 14 years, and would stand by each other, no matter what. Daniel was the outgoing, boisterous one, whereas Ty tended to seem like Daniel's sidekick. Always needing a little encouragement and giving the cautious approach to their adventures.

He was excited to meet them later, but he had to get to get ready first. Ty leaped from his bed, and quickly turned the corner to get into the bathroom, and the shower from there. The shower lasted about four minutes, but Tyson had even cleaned behind his ears in the short amount of time. After showering, Tyson changed into the clothes he had laid out the night before: A plain gray athletic shirt, followed by a pair of khaki cargo pants. In a last minute decision, he threw in his old warm-up jacket in his backpack, and it miraculously fit. His pack was already threatening to burst open, but he was a little worried that it didn't have enough stuff. It held a spare change of clothes, a map (that he'd forgotten to learn how to read. Oops.), a few packs of camping food, and his pokégear.

He really was amazed at the little piece of technology. It could function as a phone, or a radio, and can even get upgrades to have extras functions, like having a TM reader,which had been an upgrade for Tyson's pokégear. One of the conditions his parents made him agree to is that he'd call his parents at least once a week, although he was a little worried that he'd forget.

After a second thought, he carefully extracted his warm-up jacket out of his bag. It was pretty early, and he would be fine wearing it for a while. It was his old soccer jacket, the one that he'd gotten when he started playing club soccer. It was a little dirty, and had signs of fraying here and there, but it wouldn't matter. It was more of a comfort item, and Ty didn't care what people thought of it. It even had his lucky number 12 embroidered on the front.

Tyson checked himself in the mirror. While he usually didn't care too much about appearance, he thought it might be good to look a little more professional then he was accustomed to. While giving his hair a quick once-over brushing, he examined his face a little more closely. The peach fuzz on his face was just starting to take color. The freckles on his face were quite subdued as opposed to how they were last year, but they were still present. His brown eyes looked alert and focused. The only bothersome issue was the lack of definition to his face. It was still soft-looking. That troubled him.

"Oh well. I don't have to look at my own face." He shrugged, unconvinced, and put his brush down. "Alright," Ty started, "this is it. The start of your journey. Focus. Remember: You are ready for this."

After his short pep talk, he grabbed his backpack, and carefully descended the staircase. He knew his dad would be off to work already, and chances were his mom and sister were still asleep, so he tried not to wake them. Quietly putting his running shoes on, he reached for the door to the garage.

"Leaving without saying goodbye?" Tyson froze, and turned to see his mom, Julie, in the kitchen arch. "I was just going to get my starter, then come back and say goodbye," Ty explained.

"Tyson, you know as well as I do that the second you get your pokémon that you will be running to Viridian City without a second thought. I mean, why would you need your backpack if you are coming right back?" Julie replied.

He had no response for her. She was right.

"See? Now, since you won't have time afterwards, you'd better eat breakfast now." Julie continued. They moved into the kitchen, where Tyson sat at the counter island, and his mother went back to cooking. After entering the kitchen, Ty recognized the smell of melted cheese and egg, and he was not disappointed as Julie placed a plate with an egg and cheese sandwich in front of him. He ate quickly, anxious to get to the professor's lab. After finishing his breakfast, and thanking his mother in the process, he grabbed his pack from beside the door where he'd left it, but was once again stopped by his mother.

"You almost did it again," Julie reminded him. "Sorry, but I just want to go." Tyson replied.

"I know," Julie said softly, "but I am your mother, so give me a hug before you go." Ty did as he was asked. "Be safe. Don't do anything without Daniel or Ellie watching your back. And if anything happens, you can come home for a while. We love you," Julie finished as Ty opened the door. "I know mom. I love you too." He shut the door, and set off down the road, A very motivated pace carrying him on light feet.

* * *

The road to the professor's laboratory, while not a main road, was dead silent that morning. Although it was a Saturday, Tyson had past through most of Pallet Town without seeing a single other human. No cars had passed him, no morning joggers had jogged by him. Even the corner general store, while open, showed no life between its doors. None of this disturbed Tyson. Some days there was a certain lethargy in the air, including that morning, but it didn't affect Tyson, who merrily whistled as he made his way across town. Passing by Daniel's house, he noticed the front door was open. Nervously, Tyson checked his pokégear.

"Shit, I missed him." Tyson then tightened the straps on his pack, and adopted a faster pace. In normal fashion between them, he and Daniel had wagered that whoever got to the lab first would get the first pick of pokémon.

By the time he had passed the suburbs of Pallet, he was forced to breathe through his mouth on each step. Passing through the gate to the lab's expansive property, facing the incline up to the main building, Tyson took a deep breath, and poured all his remaining energy into getting up the hill. He was rewarded to see that Daniel was not standing in front of the doors as he'd feared. He nearly fell over in exhaustion as he slung off his pack, but was still in a chipper mood.. He rubbed his shoulders, which were sore from the bulk of his expedition-sized pack.

"Geez man, you run all the way here?" Tyson turned in surprise, but no one was there. It sounded like Daniel, but, no one was there. "Well? Did you?" At this, Tyson followed the voice to one of the trees lining the pavement. He noticed a strange lump in the grass under the tree, and a feeling of dread filled him. He hadn't beaten Daniel after all.

"Dan... is that...you?" Tyson gasped between breaths. One of the tree's lower limbs started shaking, and a body fell from the tree.

Daniel was a larger body than Tyson, but Ty was actually a little taller than him. He shared Tyson's brown hair color, but his was straight unlike Tyson's, reaching just below his ears. Brown eyes characterized his common face. He had on a drab blue T-shirt, sporting his favorite snowboard brand, and a pair of Levi's, which mostly covered up his skate shoes.

"Wow Ty, I didn't think you would be this crazy about getting here first," Daniel remarked, picking up his pack and walking towards Tyson. He wore a sly type of smile on his face.

"Oh Okay. Says the one who was up in a tree waiting for me." Tyson called back at him, once he'd caught his breath. He pulled out a water bottle and copiously began drinking.

"Serves you right. I wanted to get practice camping, so I was in the woods down there," Daniel gestured down where the road curved beside a wooded area, "and I spent the night by myself camping."

"And how did that turn out?" Ty asked him, hoping that he was miserable since he was bitter about picking a pokémon behind Daniel.

"Actually, pretty well. I didn't want to use any of my camping food, so I took a few cans of soup and I had those for dinner over a fire. I put up the tent when it was pitch-black out, and pretty fast I might add, I did a little looking at the map I got, and I looked over the trainer handbook a little bit."

"I am surprised. You actually took the time to learn how to read a map?" Ty said, a little condescendingly.

"No, but I can still look at it. I can at least tell a general direction of where to go, and it has a little bit of info on the gyms, so that's helpful."

"Well hold on. I passed your house this morning, and the front door was open." Tyson quipped.

"Heh. I figured you would freak out if you saw it open, so I asked my dad if he could leave open it this morning. I guess it worked," Daniel answered chuckling.

"Yeah, well I am still surprised you were even up at this point. Even if you were camping, you could sleep in until 11."

The two boy continued talking, discussing the preceding day's events to each other, trying to occupy the time until they could enter the lab. It wasn't until a few minutes before the doors opened that Eleanor came up the hill. The moment Tyson saw her, a swarm of butterfree were fluttering in his stomach.

"About time you got here! Me and Ty have been here for hours!" Daniel yelled to her. Eleanor didn't respond, but continued walking towards them.

"Is the door open yet?" Eleanor asked.

"No. They are on an electronic timer, so they open automatically at eight," Daniel replied.

"Then I am just as early as you guys. Hey Ty," Eleanor replied back. Ty had been watching this argument with amusement. It was common for Eleanor and Daniel to argue like they just did, and Eleanor usually got the best of the confrontations.

"Hey Ell, Good Morning," Tyson said back to her. "We had a little sidebet riding on whoever got here first, so that's why he's so fired up. He won, so he gets to pick a pokémon before me."

"You let him win? How could you! Now we have to deal with this hanging over us forever," She said, forcing a small blush onto Tyson's cheeks.

"Well, uh, I didn't think... Sometimes Daniel... I mean, he rarely take things seriously... I am so sorr-" Tyson was cut off by Eleanor's laughing.

"It's okay Ty, I was joking. Geez, you think I don't know how Daniel is?" Eleanor said to Tyson.

"You know, I've been here the entire time," Daniel remarked.

"Oh, be quiet Danny," Eleanor said to him, earning a scowl in the process.

At that moment, a car pulled up and into a parking spot labeled "Professor", causing the three teens to bubble up with anticipation. A tall man with grayish hair, tanned skin and a white lab coat stepped out of the car. Noticing the adolescents standing in front of the main door, the man, better known as Professor Oak, slightly bowed his head, unable to hide that their actions were completely unsurprising. Of all the kids who were receiving pokémon today, these three were the most ambitious. There was a reason that these were the only ones who were invited to come an hour early, a special task he had planned.

"Professor Oak, sir, we are ready to get our pokémon now," Tyson declared to the Professor.

"I could tell. You got here before me," Oak replied back, causing a flash of red to appear on Tyson's face.

Oak was a normally kind man, but he was most certainly not a morning person, and would sometimes forget himself in the early morning hours. However, coffee usually woke him up quick. Just as he reached the doors, Tyson's watch beeped out 8:00, and they could hear a lock unlatching in the door.

"Exactly on time, as usual. If you three would follow me, we can get you back out of here by 8:30." Oak instructed the trainers-to-be, and they wound their way to the back of the lab. Along the way, the Professor slipped into a break room and grabbed a mug full of coffee.

The room they stopped in was quite dull compared to the rest of the lab. Spacious, but only held two tables and some strange machine with a spout-like protrusion from the top, facing down into a tray. One table was sat against the far wall, a desktop computer on it. The other sat in the middle, and was divided into three raised platforms, with pokéball marked cups, similar to a muffin tray. In each platform sat one pokéball in the top left corner.

"Okay, lets get this started," Oak started.

"As you know, there are three normal pokémon given out to trainers in the Kanto region: Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle. Those three are before you, in that order from left to right. Normally, I would allow you to pick and be on your way. However, every year, a few trainers are offered an extra opportunity. You can probably guess that it is you three, based on the fact that none of the other future trainers are here. That special opportunity is awarded based on lots of traits, qualities, and abilities, and this was decided by a combination of your teachers, parents, and those of us here at the lab. You three are the Pallet nominees. This is also based on what trainers seem to be the most likely to be able to last as trainers, because lots of trainers give up and quit training. Trust me, it seems a little out there, but this was a long process. Anyway, you three will receive your starters, but instead of a simple trainer ID, you will be given a pokédex, a high-tech encyclopedia that can record data on pokémon you see, and if you want you can submit an entry that will get reviewed by researchers. This device is your trainer ID, so keep a tight grip on it, besides the fact that it is very expensive."

"So, who is getting their pokémon first?"

The three trainers stood quietly, taking in all that the professor had given to them. Why had they been chosen? They were good students, and stayed out of trouble, but surely there were more qualified people. Pallet wasn't a big town, but of the 20-some trainers, the three of them together were the best three?

"El, you can go first," Tyson said, breaking the silence that had taken over the room.

"Uh, I was here first," Daniel whined.

"Are you a lady? I didn't think so. Besides, you still go before me."

"Ugh, fine. But if she picks the best one I will not be happy."

Eleanor, without responding to either of her friends, took a step forward. She looked over the three pokémon before her. Bulbasaur, the grass type, on the left. Charmander, the fire type, in the middle. Squirtle, the water type, on the right. Eleanor raised her hand, holding it up for a second, before grabbing one of the pokéballs. At the professor's nod, she opened up the pokéball, and her starter materialized on the ground. A blue skinned turtle emerged from the white light. Mainly covered up by a brownish and cream colored shell, it stood on its hind legs and looked up at Eleanor.

"Squirtle?"

 **Squirtle. Shoots water at prey while in the water. Withdraws into its shell when in danger.**

"hi squirtle, I'm your new trainer. My name is Eleanor. How would you like to come with me?" Eleanor said to her first pokémon.

"Squirt!" the tiny turtle pokémon replied before smiling and shooting a small stream of water at his new trainer, earning a slight shriek in response.

"I must say, you picked the most mischievous of these three starters. He is very loyal, but has a bit of a rebel streak." Oak informed the three teens.

"You don't say... My Turn!" Daniel replied enthusiastically, ignoring Eleanor and her now dripping wet hair.

Daniel looked over the two remaining pokéballs, and with little hesitation grabbed his choice. He held it in his hand for a few seconds, before releasing his new starter. The first noticeable feature was that his starter was also bipedal. The light faded, revealing an orange lizard-like creature. It had a rounded head, two arms with sharpened claws at the end, and a large tail with a flame burning at the end of it.

 **Charmander. The flame at the tip of its tail makes a sound as it burns. You can only hear it in quiet places.**

"Oh man, what's up Charmander! I'm Daniel, and I'm your new trainer, so lets work hard and kick some ass!"

Charmander looked up, and upon listening to Daniel, gave a confused "char?" that earned a sigh from his trainer.

"Ah, Charmander, the fire starter. They can be quite the hand full, and are very proud, but if you give it patience, it will reward you with a tireless companion." Oak spoke about the second starter.

"Alright Ty, you get the last one then," Daniel told him without looking up from his starter.

"I wouldn't call him last if he was going to be my choice anyway. Bulbasaur, that means you and I are partners," Tyson said, reaching for the last pokéball. On the ground formed a quadrupedal pokémon. It was green, mainly a light green with darker green markings. On its back was a large, bulblike growth. Tyson knelt down and locked eyes with the grass type in front of him.

 **Bulbasaur. It can go for days without eating a single morsel. In the bulb on its back, it stores energy.**

"Bulbasaur, I'm Tyson. I am going to be a trainer, and I want you to come with me. I am not going to force you, so are you and I going to be partners?"

The pokémon in front of Tyson looked at him, eyes locked in analysis before slowly nodding.

"Now Bulbasaur is a curious one. Normally, they are very open to new trainers, but this one is very reserved. I have had a very hard time getting him to open up to me, and even now he is still distant. I wish you patience, because he'll be a challenge to get him to give out his trust."

Tyson nodded at the professor, acknowledging his input. Tyson put his hand out to Bulbasaur, who shied away from the contact for a second, before grudgingly allowing himself to be pet. Tyson was slightly troubled by this. How could he be the best trainer in the world if he couldn't earn the trust of his starter?

"So, now that your starters have been chosen, you will need your trainer starter kits. Potions, a few pokéballs, a paperback notebook, and a few survival tools." Oak said, walking over to the corner table. The professor then picked up three rectangular devices, before walking back over to the teens.

"Here are your pokedexes. To program them to you, just insert your trainer card into the open slot. Your ID have magnetic codes on them, much like a credit card. Once you do that, you can configure it however you please. Like I said before, just please take care of them."

The teens nodded in acknowledgment, before the quartet left the way they had come., recalling their pokémon on the way out. The three trainers began making their way out of town, waving to Professor Oak on the way out.

"So, we are officially trainers. And we have pokémon. How cool is this?" Daniel remarked.

"Yeah, it's pretty awesome," Tyson replied.

"Let's make the most of this. Let's hurry to Viridian before everyone else gets going." Daniel said, forcing a quicker pace.

* * *

"Ugh, can we stop for lunch now?" Daniel whined. They had been walking non-stop since they left Pallet Town, and were passing by a small copse.

"You're the one who wanted to get to Viridian as fast as possible," Tyson responded.

"So? We still need to eat."

"Yeah, I guess. But we shouldn't stay too long." Tyson replied.

Immediately, Daniel stopped, and laid down, leaning against a tree, before reaching in his pack to pull out a sandwich. He was almost done when he remembered he had a pokémon to take care of too. He released Charmander, and resumed eating. He would feed Charmander after his last bite.

Charmander, however, wasn't waiting. She began rummaging through Daniel's bag.

"Wha- what are you doing Charmander!?" Daniel cried. He turned to try and wrestle his starter out of his backpack, setting his sandwich on the ground.

Meanwhile, Eleanor and Tyson had both let their starters out, and were preparing to feed them. While the two trainers were filling food bowls, Squirtle wandered over to where Daniel was sitting, and snagged the rest of his sandwich that he'd left in an effort to stop Charmander. Squirtle, after swallowing the rest of Daniel's food, casually walked back over to where his food was set out.

Once Daniel had pried Charmander out of his bag and set her food out, he turned to find his lunch missing.

"Did one of you eat my sandwich?" Daniel asked.

"Nope. I have my own food." Eleanor told him.

"You know I don't eat mayo." Tyson said while eating his own sandwich.

"Then where the hell did it go?" Eleanor and Tyson both shrugged. However, Daniel then noticed Squirtle, who sat at Eleanor's feet, a mischievous grin on his face.

"You! You stole my sandwich!" Daniel accused Squirtle.

"Dan, you better not be accusing my starter of stealing your food. He's been next to me since I let him out." Eleanor growled at him. Daniel looked down, hiding his anger. He knew Squirtle did it, but he had no proof. His opponent had won this round.

Tyson, a bystander to this confrontation, looked up to see a pidgey in a nearby tree, watching them.

"Hey, do you guys see that Pidgey watching us?" Tyson's two friends looked up to see the same pidgey. Eleanor got up, and offered the flying type some of her chips. The tiny bird fluttered down in front of Eleanor, cawed, and pecked at the crumbs Eleanor had thrown out for it. Another pidgey flew down, seemingly out of nowhere, and began eating as well. And then two more. Within a few moments, more than a dozen pidgey had come for the chip crumbs, and Eleanor was forced to give up the rest of her chips to the flock of birds. The squabble continued in front of Eleanor, tearing through the bag that held her lunch.

The pidgey left as fast as they appeared, leaving nothing of Eleanor's chips.

"Well, looks like you just lost your snacks," Tyson pointed out.

"And you didn't even try to catch one. Rookie mistake," Daniel added.

"Neither did you, so you're just as much wrong, if not more-so, because they were eating Ellies's food, while you were free to take a chance at it," Tyson countered.

Daniel gave a low grumbling as response. Tyson looked at Eleanor, earning an thankful smile. A slight tug grew in his gut.

They continued eating, engaging in light conversation. None of the trio had any full plans on where to go after making it to Viridian City. Of course, they would most likely be headed to Pewter, not willing to head immediately into very remote areas yet. A lot of training has to be done before trainers can travel there safely, and even then, lots of horror stories come from the trainers coming back.

"Hey Ty, how much further do we have to go to get to Viridian City?" Daniel questioned.

"Hold on, let me get the map out," Tyson responded. "It is a couple miles."

"Can we make it today?"

"If we took an aggressive pace... I think it would be possible. But we would have to be really moving. Almost a jogging pace for most of the way, even then we would be coming in pretty late," Tyson elaborated.

"So, are we going to push for it?" Daniel questioned. Tyson and Eleanor looked at each other for a second before sighing, then nodding. They quickly gathered their trash and packs, and got moving.

"I think we should have our pokémon out, and they can walk with us as part of their training," Tyson suggested, which was supported by his companions. All of the starters were released, and took up positions running next to their partners.

* * *

"C'mon Bulbasaur! Only a little more to go! Five hundred feet, and you can stop," Tyson called to his starter who was trailing behind the rest of the group, panting hard. The grass type was the only quadruped in their company, and his shorter limbs did little to help that.

They had been keeping a decent pace for about half an hour, and everyone was sucking air hard, especially the pokémon. This new training was foreign to them, and had them working. However, their trainers had worked them enough, and were going to take a quick break to let their pokémon catch their breath before returning them. A small creek ahead presented the perfect stopping spot.

"Great job bud!" Tyson yelled out as his starter slowed down and slumped onto his stomach in exhaustion. Charmander and Squirtle had both made it to the stream, Squirtle laying in it while Charmander took a sip and then retreated from it. Bulbasaur crawled over to the bank before sliding into the water, drinking as he went.

"Maybe that was a bit too much for a first training," Tyson remarked, earning a nod from Bulbasaur. Daniel and Eleanor also nodded in agreement.

"Well, it was a good session anyway. And now we have a starting idea of what they can endure to start," Daniel countered.

The trainers were also a bit winded, but they had a pace to keep, hoping to recover their breath on the road. However, a series of squawking and shrieking off to their left drew their attention.

A pidgey and some other bird were attacking each other. Realizing that none of them had taken a record of the pidgey earlier, Tyson took out his pokedex to record the data on the two birds.

 **Pidgey. Very docile. If attacked, it will often kick up sand to protect itself rather than fight back. Female.**

 **Spearow. Inept at flying high. However, it can fly around very fast to protect its territory. Male.**

"Hey, look at that pidgey. It has a bit of plastic on its claw. Almost like a chip bag wrapper," Daniel pointed out. His two companions both looked into the scrap and saw what Daniel was talking about: a small piece of reflective wrapper stuck on the left foot of the pidgey.

"Maybe it is one of the ones from before, and was wanting more handouts," Tyson added, focused more on Pidgey's opponent, who landed a strong tackle on the foe bird.

"Well, if it is, then I want it, because that is one smart bird," Eleanor stated. "Squirtle, get out of the water! We have a battle!"

Squirtle groaned before pulling himself up, not very enthusiastic about a battle after training. He fired a quick squirt at the back of Daniel's neck when he'd turned back around, earning the response "bastard."

"Bulbasuar, let's get a battle in as well. Do you think that spearow would be a good addition?" Bulbausaur nodded, albeit a little unsure. He was not convinced of the idea.

"Okay. Use Tackle and break-up those birds, but aim for Spearow," Tyson commanded. Bulbasaur hesitated before enacting the attack, scattering the birds while ramming into Spearow. Squirtle then gave Pidgey his next opponent by giving it a light squirt, doing little but angering it.

"Great Bulbasaur! Now Growl," Tyson added as Spearow came in for a Peck. After the growl was enacted, Spearow slowed slightly before finishing his attack, causing heavy damage to the grass type and knocking him over.

"Come on Bulbasaur, you're stronger than that!" Tyson called out, encouraging his starter as Bulbasaur pulled himself up. "Now tackle!"

Bulbasaur began sprinting at the aerial bird, and jumped into it at the last second, bringing it down to the ground. The Spearow cawed loudly at Bulbasaur and scowled, unnerving him.

"Isn't that a move?" Daniel inquired.

"Yeah, I believe it's called Leer", Tyson answered. "Bulbasaur, growl at it, and then tackle."

The grass type followed the command to growl at his opponent, but instead of tackling unleashed two slender vines and struck his opponent, knocking him over, where he struggled to get up.

"Huh, I didn't know Bulbasaur could use vine whip," Tyson commented. _Maybe he can use his vines without using vine whip,_ he thought.

Tyson, noticing a perfect opportunity to be the first one to actually catch a pokémon, set his backpack down and scrambled to grab a pokéball

"Bulbasaur, keep it down!" Tyson called, finally reaching a pokéball. _I should keep these in a much more handy spot,_ He thought, enlarging the pokéball and throwing it at the fallen spearow.

It bounced against the bird, turning it red and pulling it into the pokéball. It wiggled on the ground for a few seconds, three noticably stronger shakes, and stopped, giving off a small sparklike flare to indicate its success. Tyson shouted in excitement as he turned to see Eleanor throw a pokéball at the pidgey sucking it into the pokéball. A few seconds later, the same spark that came off Spearow's ball left Pidgey's ball.

"I caught my first pokémon!" Eleanor yelled, earning a grin from her two companions. "And I caught the first overall!"

"Umm... where do you think Spearow is?" Tyson replied, a smirk evident on his face. Eleanor looked to see a pokéball left on the ground.

"Oh come on! I thought I had it," Eleanor whined as her starter returned to her side, panting. She picked up her new pokémon, prompting Tyson to do the same.

"I'm letting Spearow out, so heads up. Bulbasaur, be ready," Tyson said to everyone. He released Spearow, who didn't move once being released, but stared at the human who captured him, body tensed up. Tyson kneeled down to try and appear less threatening.

"Hey Spearow, I caught you in a pokéball, so that means I am your trainer now," Tyson started, earning no movement from the tiny bird. "Now, I can release you if you really don't want to be a part of my team," Tyson paused, "but I think that you should stay on my team. I think that we could work together, along with Bulbasaur, and we could get very strong together."

Spearow put his head down, thinking over his choices, and lightly nodded.

"Okay. Now, I bet you are tired, so I am going to recall you, where you can rest, and I will let you out once we stop," Tyson finished, earning another nod from Spearow.

"Nice work Ty," Eleanor complimented, bringing a slight redness to Tyson's cheeks. "Now, I am going to do the same with Pidgey," She continued, releasing her tiny bird.

Pidgey immediately looked around, thinking she was still being attacked.

"Pidgey, it's okay. There's no one for you to battle," Eleanor explained to her.

"See, you got hit with a pokéball, meaning that I caught you. So now, we are trainer and pokémon, together, and we can work together to get stronger, or I could let you go, and we will never see each other again. It's your choice."

Pidgey didn't wait a second before excitedly nodding to her trainer, and flying up to land on her shoulder.

"Also, I have a question for you. Did you follow us from before?" Eleanor asked, earning another nod from the excited bird pokémon. Eleanor smiled at it. "I guess you had probably already decided what you wanted to do before I asked you."

"Hey, I know this is very exciting, but we still have a long way to go, and night is coming on soon," Daniel chimed in, pointing to the setting sun.

"I think that at this point, we should camp out, because it would probably be easier than hiking all night. Besides, this is only day one. See how you feel tomorrow," Tyson replied, as he and Eleanor recalled their starters.

"I'm with Ty on this one," Eleanor added in.

"Fine, but let's at least go until we reach a good camping spot," Daniel relented. "Of course you two would agree," he muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" Eleanor asked, confused and oblivious to the glare that Tyson was giving Daniel, a rosy color upon his face.

"N-Nothing. Let's get to that campsite," Tyson said, grabbing his bag and leaving the conversation behind and forcing his companions to keep up.

* * *

They finally stopped just as the sun had set, Daniel pitching their tents while they still had light, as Tyson went to get water and Eleanor got firewood. Once Eleanor got back, Daniel had Charmander start the fire for them, while he went back to get the next load of firewood.

Tyson had Spearow, with a little prodding from Bulbasaur, find nearby water. However, even the nearest water was almost a half a mile away, and Tyson had two trips to fill all the water. By the time he was done, a large bed of coals had developed in the fire. Eleanor and Daniel had already started eating their freeze-dried food.

"Oh, I see how it is. I have the hardest job, and you guys get to relax and eat," Tyson grumbled lightly.

"Yeah, well, we were hungry," Daniel shot back at him.

"Whatever. Let me eat my food," Tyson finished, grabbing the boiling water needed to re-hydrate his food.

They sat and talked for a while, talking about their day. They fed their pokémon, Tyson taking extra care to help make Spearow comfortable.

"Hey Spearow, would you like a nickname?" Tyson asked after learning they often helped pokémon bond with their trainers. Spearow nodded after appearing to give it thought.

Tyson thought about it for a while, nothing coming to him. He wanted something unique, yet also acknowledged Spearow's attributes.

"How about Eurus?" Tyson came up with, recalling the name from a book he read. Spearow immediately liked it, nodding eagerly. Eurus flew and landed on Tyson's head, who began rubbing a hand down Eurus' back, smoothing out his feathers. He also let out Bulbasaur, hoping to give him a nickname as well.

It took a bit of convincing, but they settled on Arbutin.

Neither Eleanor nor Daniel wanted to give their pokémon nicknames.

Eventually, the fire started dying down, and they drifted off to their tents, preparing for another day of travel. Without delay, they would be reaching Viridian City tomorrow, the first stop of their journey.


End file.
